‘I Want to Pray for Him’: Grieving Parents of 15-Year-Old Girl Killed in Kentucky High School Break Their Silence With Stunning Reaction to the Shooter

The grieving parents of 15-year-old Bailey Holt, who was killed on Tuesday during a deadly shooting at Marshall County High School in Benton, Kentucky, told reporters that their daughter was “a perfect angel” with a kind heart.

Bailey’s mother, Secret, told WKRN-TV that she’s not sure if she’ll be able to go to court and face the 15-year-old suspect accused of the horrific crime, while offering a stunning amount of grace in noting that she plans to pray for the teen.

“I don’t know if I can go to court and see him. I just don’t know if I can, but I want him to pay for everything he’s done,” she said. “I also want to pray for him, too, because I know he’s probably having a hard time too, but he took our baby. He still took my baby from me.”

The sad irony, Secret says, is that if the boy needed help, Bailey would’ve been there. “If he needed a friend, I know she would’ve been a friend to him,” she said.

The Holts also revealed that Bailey called them as she was dying inside the school, though she was unable to speak.

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The worried parents had initially tried to call their daughter after hearing that there was a shooting at her high school, but to no avail. The lack of response concerned then, as she typically calls back or texts.

When Bailey did finally call back, Secret said that she could only hear “chaos in the background.” Bailey was completely silent.

“She couldn’t say anything and I tried to call her name over and over and over and she never responded,” the grieving mom explained. “We rushed to the high school, and they wouldn’t let us get through.”

The family later learned that Bailey and classmate Preston Ryan Cope, 15, were the only two fatalities in the tragic mass shooting. A 15-year-old boy whose identity has not yet been revealed has been charged with 12 counts of attempted murder and two counts of murder, WKRN reported.

Secret and Bailey’s dad, Jasen, are still trying to grapple with the pain of their loss, describing their daughter as a tender-hearted young woman whose smile would “light up the room.” Bent on helping others, Bailey aspired to be a labor and delivery nurse, her mom said. Her dad, too, showered his daughter with loving accolades as he reflected on her young life that was tragically cut far too short.

“She was an angel here on earth,” Jasen said. “She was a perfect angel.”

The Marshall County High School shooting has left Kentucky reeling, with Gov. Matt Bevin offering a hopeful response to the tragic event that injured nearly 20 in addition to the two fatalities.